25m Distance Between Us
by Midnight Coffee 64
Summary: Mario Odyssey-influenced ;) Pauline finds herself caught in the middle of a plot by Bowser to marry Princess Peach in her jurisdiction in New Donk City, and old wounds reopen when she discovers why Mario seemingly left her all those years ago.
1. Old Times, Bad Times

It had been years since he left her, and she had moved on with her life.

Or so it would seem.

Pauline woke up that morning in the bed in her designated special room within the New Donk City Town Hall.

She was now the Mayor.

How many years had passed since she last saw him?

She couldn't remember, but she didn't seem to care anymore, either. She would rather spend her days married to her job as Mayor than to Mario anyways.

The sun was bright that morning, and the cooing of Pigeons seemed to exceed the noise of the traffic and construction workers outside.

That gaudy sign depicting the evil dragon turtle in a top hat grabbing a blonde damsel wearing a tiara reminded her of those awful years when Donkey Kong would hold her hostage at the top of the 25m construction girders above the city. That year, she had gone through her blonde phase, and Mario had jokingly pointed out that she would wind up like the woman from "King Kong" when the great Ape at the Zoo broke out.

It was a harmless joke that turned real when it actually happened.

At least Mario had her back. The man risked life and limb hopping barrels and dodging wily fires. He was quite a man when it came to construction; perhaps his years working with the Wrecking Crew made him resilient to construction hazards. He was quite good at swinging Hammers around, as well.

The Ape stood no chance in the end, and Mario had thought it best to lock him up again.

For many years the two of them had to deal with this Ape, and even his child during the Mini marketing times.

Eventually, Mario and his brother Luigi had gone into the Plumbing trade, and after their first job, Pauline never saw either of them again.

She felt responsible for Mario's gone missing, and for a few years, kept searching relentlessly, but to no avail.

She looked back at those years passed, and sighed in relief. Her inner sympathy made her want to stop that wedding from taking place. As Mayor, she could authorize a shut-down of city venues, thus putting a damper on the turtle man's plans and helping the distressed blonde woman in the picture.

Pauline made her way downstairs after having donned her lovely new blue sun hat and red mayor's blouse. She was greeted by the friendly faces of her people, and it felt great.

Suddenly, that's when the day turned inside-out, and a man ran inside, practically plummeting before Pauline's feet due to tripping on his shoelaces in sheer horror. Pauline was stunned, and before the man could say a word, in bursted the giant turtle monster from the Billboards and posters all over town.

He was large. Much larger than Donkey Kong. And he was riddled with spikes, and those horns... Pauline tried to hide the fear in her eyes, but did an awful job at it. It was extremely obvious.

The Turtle laughed at the woman's feared expression, and took his betrothed off his back and placed her on the floor in front of him.

"You're the mayor of this City, aren't you?" he asked Pauline, making sure to sound somewhat less threatening than he appeared. He knew he would get nowhere if the Mayor was too busy crapping her skirt to speak.

"Yes." Pauline replied. She made occasional eye-contact with the blonde maiden, and showed her an expression of empathy, which the damsel seemed to understand.

"My name is King Bowser Koopa." the turtle said, his voice dripping with pride. "This is Princess Peach Toadstool."

Pauline had never heard of either of them.

"This _is_ the city that Mario grew up in, right?" Bowser looked to Peach for reassurance.

That name rang a bell. Pauline was surprised. It couldn't be the same Mario, could it? Surely, it wasn't. There must be _hundreds_ , if not _thousands_ of Marios in the world.

The blonde Princess nodded. "Mario will _definitely_ want to beat you to a pulp for this!"

"Let him try." The Koopa king said boldly with a smirk.

Pauline made the sorry mistake of opening her mouth. "Mario." She began. "He doesn't have a younger brother named Luigi, does he?"

Bowser turned his gaze from Peach to Pauline. "Oh...?"

This was when she realized that it may have been better if she remained silent. Suddenly, the hurt, the abandonment, the sorrow, it flooded back to Pauline. Mario jilted her years ago. She was done with it. She was happy now.

"Why?" Bowser mused. "Why, what are you to Mario, Mayor?" He walked closer to her. "An old friend?"

Pauline would not say a word. She would not put herself at risk any further. She would not throw Mario under the bus to this monster.

That was when she got knocked to the ground by Bowser's fist. It was a light punch, to be sure, but it was enough to make Peach cup her hands in front of her mouth in shock, and for the other people in the Town Hall to panic.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Bowser asked again, voice raised. "ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

Princess Peach looked at the poor woman with sympathy written all over her face. Pauline shot up quickly to face the Koopa King. She was aggitated now, and Pauline, as those who knew her could vouch, tended to have a big mouth when she was angered. She was known for being headstrong and bold. "I WAS HIS GIRLFRIEND, ONCE, YOU FAT PIECE OF TURTLE TRASH!"

Bowser was taken back by this. She was much feistier than Peach. His suspicions were correct about this woman, and a dastardly idea came to his reptilian mind. "If I were to hurt you..." he plotted out loud. "it would crush Mario, wouldn't it?"

"Probably not." Pauline said, trying to change his mind. "I don't think he ever gave a crap to begin with, you know?"

Peach looked at her and looked away. This was Pauline, alright. Mario's ex. She had heard a bit about her in the beginning, and how long it had taken Mario to get over the fact that he would never see her again. Only now, because of Bowser's intervention, their two worlds crossed, and Mario would find himself back home again.

"Actually, I still need you to organize the wedding," Bowser remembered in his moment of clarity. "though, I'm sure you can give orders from my Airship."

"I would never!" Pauline protested. "Just who do you think you are, you big bastard, kidnapping women and forcing them to marry you? That is SUCH a-"

"This way, the Mushroom Kingdom will legally be mine. We can avoid the messiness of a war." Bowser said, flatly. Almost like he would have enjoyed a war. Pauline figured that Peach must have talked him into a peaceful settlement.

"Wait... 'Mushroom Kingdom'?" Pauline questioned.

Just that moment, Bowser grabbed her and Peach, and jumped straight up through the ceiling of the Town Hall, onto the roof. He blew a loud whistle, and his Airship came up from around the back of the building, and he jumped in, leaving people mesmerized and without a mayor.


	2. The Princess and the Showgirl

Mario had just arrived in New Donk City when people were in a sense of panic.

The red-clad plumber managed to grab a running man by his jacket, and turned him around to talk.

"What's-a going on here?" the Mustachioed wonder asked in sheer concern.

"GIANT TURTLE DRAGON! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" The man cried as he escaped Mario's grip and continued on his flurry of panic.

Mario knew all too well as to who it could be. As odd as it would seem, after how much time has passed, the first thought that came to the small Italian plumber's mind was Pauline's whereabouts. He worried whether or not she was in the City to begin with, or if Bowser had somehow found out about her and attempted her life to spite him.

Or, worst-case scenario, Pauline would have opened her mouth and gotten herself in trouble, as she was always the headstrong type. Would Bowser kill her? Maybe not in front of Peach. Would Pauline maybe have slept in this morning and not have left her apartment? Does she even live in the same apartment?

So many conflicting thoughts and concerns flying through poor Mario's head. He had to sit down on a bench, very much unlike his usual self. When he collected his thoughts, the objective returned: save Princess Peach and enjoy a nice slice of cake afterwards, and never return to old New Donk City again.

Honestly, he preferred the Mushroom Kingdom. When it wasn't being invaded, it was far more peaceful than New Donk City.

Mario stood up quickly and continued to parkour his way through the bustling city, leaping off peoples' cars and ignoring the agitated drivers screaming at him to "fuck himself" and making obscene gestures with their hands and arm. He swung on lampposts and made his way onto the sides of the buildings, and that was when it caught his eye; it was unmistakable.

A flying battleship with Bowser's hideous face on it. Leaving from the direction of the Town Hall, where people were fleeing by the dozens. The Airship caught sight of Mario, seemingly, as a barrage of Bullet Bills rained down towards the plumber.

Mario quickly ran around the other side of the building, still on the ledge, as windows were blown to bits by the Bullet Bills. His foot slipped and he fell of the 7th story. The situation escalated almost immediately, as another Bullet Bill came straight down for him, and he had nowhere to go to avoid it.

Mario gripped his hat, and in an act of desperation, tried the technique that the Hat spirit creature told him about before arrival; he threw it onto the oncoming Bullet Bill, and somehow found himself in the air again. He then figured out that he had just _become_ the Bullet Bill.

He flew around towards the Town Hall and flipped himself to angle Bowser's Airship and immediately released his hold over the Bullet, causing it to continue on its trajectory right into the ship, blowing the side of it.

* * *

The ship was rattled, and Pauline was almost tossed over in the Cargo hold.

This was getting ridiculous. The angry brunette stood back up, and aftershock sent her back on her ass. A loud rip was heard, and she noticed that her left sleeve had been torn wide open.

"Fuck!" Pauline cursed in rage. "This blouse cost me an arm, a leg, and a tit, and now it's ruined! Oooh, that turtle is going to pay for this!"

"It's easier to cope with it if you don't think about it." came a voice.

Princess Peach was in the back of the cargo hold, locked in a cage like a songbird.

Pauline was disgusted by this. The ship stabilized in its flight once again, and she up and walked over to the captive Princess in her gilded prison.

"Does this... happen often to you?" Pauline asked, holding onto one of the cage bars for support. Peach simply nodded, sadly.

Her knees were wobbling. She was not used to being in this high altitude. Ever. The highest she'd ever been was on the construction girders back when Donkey Kong kidnapped her. She was beginning to go pale, and Peach took immediate notice.

The magnanimous princess took the water bottle that Bowser had given to her, and held it out to Pauline. "Here, you need this more than I do."

Pauline took the water bottle and proceeded to take a drink. When she had her fill, she closed the lid, wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve, and handed it back to Peach. The Princess looked surprised. This dignified woman, behaving like such a commoner, wiping the water residue on her clothing.

She remembered that Mario said that Pauline used to be a showgirl, and it made sense.

It would seem that she really took a step up in the world in Mario's absence.

"So..." Peach began to stimulate conversation. "You're Pauline?"

"That's my name. Yes." Pauline replied.

"It's... a different name, to be sure." Peach said.

"Sure." Pauline fired back. "Because 'Princess Peach' totally doesn't sound like a knock-off Alcohol drink."

Peach's face seemed to drop, and she sighed. The last thing she needed at this point was to be insulted. She had hoped that she and Pauline could be on good terms. Still, Princess Peach knew how to make this right, as she was always good at being a peace-maker. She was once able to stop Star Fox and Sheik from killing each other with a cup of tea back during her adventure in the Subspace Emissary quite some time ago. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Pauline. I didn't mean anything malicious, I promise. I think it's a nice name. Different... but nice."

Pauline inspected the Princess, but saw honesty in her apology. She nodded her head. "Sorry. I have this habit of jumping to conclusions." She scratched the back of her neck and looked over to her left. "I know. It's not exactly a good quality for a Mayor. But I'm working on it. I swear."

Peach smiled. She knew how difficult it was to be a ruler over people; how the smallest sign of weakness could discourage the masses, how a wrong decision could ruin a kingdom. Her getting kidnapped very often was a testament to her Kingdom's low morale in the current days. Mario is what held the Mushroom kingdom together. He made Peach feel normal. She was always reassured that he would be there to catch her, should she fall. He was, after all, her knight in shining armour.

She had to applaud Pauline, for having made it this far into her political career without having a Mario of her own around.

This was when she realized that she was staring at Pauline, and she turned her face away instinctively. Pauline stared back at Peach, wondering what the princess was thinking.

She wondered if Peach was romantically involved with Mario, but decided that she would shrug it off. It was, after all, depressing her.

Pauline had everything-fame, wealth, a good home, as well as many friends. How many were genuine, she did not know, but there was one thing for certain; she was in Limbo again by the mere thought of Mario. Love was pain, and it remains so. The thought of the fact that she was spending time with her romantic Rival, who had a large kingdom, lots of money, a beautiful visage, and a sweet, gentle personality, irked her ever-so-slightly. There was no competition between them; obviously Mario would go for the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. She hoped that perhaps Mario had no feelings for Peach and was just the Royal Guard.

In truth, she took a liking to the Princess, and wanted to not have to wish harm upon her. She thought that they could get along; trade kidnapping stories.

"Are you alright?" Peach said, noticing her gloomy demeanor.

"Oh, uh..." Pauline tried to lie. "I'm fine."

Peach knew that she was lying. The Princess shook her head and went back to resting in her cell.

* * *

Mario went over to a person who stood at the Town Hall, stiffened by his horrible experience.

"What's-a going on here? Nobody tells-a me a thing!" Mario snapped angrily.

The man spoke up. "M-m-mayor P-p-p-pauline has been k-kidnapped by a demon turtle Hell beast thing!" The man stammered incessantly.

Mario's heart sank deep inside of his anxiety. His worst fear has been realized. If only the stupid hat didn't interrupt him to explain pointless nonsense, he would have been able to reach Pauline and save her from Bowser.

"Was there anyone with the demon turtle?" Mario demanded an answer.

"A blonde chick with a tiara and a white dress. They're on that poster over there!" He pointed at the billboard announcing Princess Peach and Bowser's wedding, but Mario didn't have to look to figure it out. The description of the blonde woman sold him.

He deduced that perhaps Bowser had mentioned him in passing, and Pauline opened her big mouth, as usual. That was one thing Mario didn't miss about his ex-girlfriend. Their constant bickering was the reason why he went with Luigi to the Plumbing Academy of New Donk in the first place; he was sick of hearing her complain about his unsteady construction job which worked on commissions, and his being charged for being a pseudo-Doctor. He could get away with the last part with Peach, though, who would occasionally join him as his nurse assistant for kicks.

 _Oh, Peach..._ he thought. _Why does this always have to happen to you?_

He remembered how Pauline got kidnapped by the Donkey Kong family on different occasions. He figured that it must be his fault, because every dame he ever dated wound up getting kidnapped somehow. The mustachioed plumber then figured that rather than standing around and feeling guilty, he should save the two women who mattered the most to him.

Pauline, his 'bae'; the one who came before anyone else. His first girlfriend. The first would always be special. He would not break her heart again. Princess Peach, his longtime sweetheart now, whom he has rescued more times than he could count.

He had to play the hero once again.

If only Luigi were here; it would make it a little easier this time around. His hat's spirit did nothing but nag him, but he found creative ways of blocking it out.

The plumber was lost in direction, and ultimately decided that he would head eastward.


	3. Damsels in Escape

The airship's air was stale, and carried the scent of gasoline and brimstone. Princess Peach was repulsed by it, and Pauline, though she was far better accustomed to polluted air after having been born and raised in a bustling city, was disturbed, as well.

One of the things that always impressed Mario was the fact that Pauline could stand vile odors. Especially when he would return to their apartment after a day at the construction sights.

Snapping back to the present, Pauline turned to look at the resting Princess Peach.

"Hey!" She called to her.

Peach slowly lifted her head and looked towards the restless Pauline. "Yes?"

Pauline stood straight up. "We're getting out of here!"

"It's impossible..." Peach bemoaned. "Do you think I've never attempted to escape before?" She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cage bars. "Outside that door are two gigantic Sledge Bros., and beyond that are Koopatrols. Getting out would be impossible."

" _Improbable_." Pauline corrected. "It can be done, we just have to figure out how."

"You can try," Peach stated flatly. "but I am 98% sure that Bowser didn't give them orders not to kill the woman in red with brown hair."

Pauline immediately realized that Bowser would have no qualms with killing her, but another reassuring thought reared its head. "Well," she began. "I think the 2% chance wins, because I would think that he would want Mario to witness my death. If he were to kill me now, not only would his wedding plans be stinted, but he would not get the satisfaction of hurting Mario."

Peach's eyes widened. Pauline was absolutely right. Perhaps it was due to all of the mind games that Bowser had played with her that caused her to see nothing but darkness in a room with a small, yet strong light.

Pauline was a remarkably smart woman. If the situation were better, Peach would have loved to invite her to the castle to have cake and tea with her, Daisy and Toadsworth.

Toadsworth. Peach could almost see him strapped to the EKG machine already, after her most recent kidnapping. Poor old steward.

"So... what do you think?" Pauline snapped her back into the Present.

"Umm... let's try it." Peach said, nodding.

A fiendish grin stretched on Pauline's face. "Alriiiight! I've always wanted to try this again!" Peach began to feel unsettled as the brunette reached inside her hair and removed a hairclip. She then moved over to Peach's cage, and spread the hairpin apart. She then inserted the long, thin, jagged end inside of the lock, and twisted it.

"The last time I did this was when Mario and I thought it would be fun to have sex inside of a junkyard in High school." Pauline bragged as she continued to pick at the lock. Peach did not want, nor need to hear this. "That lock was tougher than this one, and the Dog they had guarding the place... ugh. Poor Mario. It bit him right-umm, well, let's leave that to him if he wants to relive that memory."

The lock gave in, and the shutters clicked. Pauline pulled it right off of the cage very slowly, carefully, and silently. Princess Peach walked out of the cage very quietly, as well. "Thank you." Peach said.

"Aw, no need to thank me!" Pauline said with a flap of her hand. "Just keep things cool, okay?"

Peach was somewhat confused, but nodded anyway. "So, where did that odd monster bite Mario? You have me curious now."

"Right in the plunger."

Peach mouthed out an "Ohhhh".

"What?" Pauline said with a very wet tone. "His Dad's toilet plunger. He was going to give it to afterwards." She slowly closed the cage door. "His father was furious about it. He also wanted to know why we were both at the junkyard. You know what Mario said?"  
"No, what did he say?" Peach asked, intrigued.

"We were-a just doing-a the Biology homework!'" Pauline replied, as though it were a punchline. She then burst out laughing. Peach joined in, as well, and the two ladies were cackling up a storm.

"HEY!" Came a voice from outide the cargo. "You two sound like you're having way too much fun in there! Do I hafta come in there?"

"Nah, we're good!" Pauline yelled back.

"Nah, doesn't sound like it." The voice replied. "I'm coming in!"

"Quick!" Pauline signaled for Peach to return inside the cage, opening and immediately shutting the door as the Princess reentered. She put the picked lock back on for safe measure, and kept it nearly closed, but not quite.

The knob turned and Pauline plopped back down on the floor and Peach reassumed the 'bored captive' position.

The Sledge Bro entered the room and looked at the two captives. "Keep it down in here, will ya?!"

"Hey, big Turtle guy." Pauline beckoned. "Come here for a sec'. There's something weird over here, and it's freaking me out."

The Sledge Bro. came in close to see what it was that Pauline was talking about. Little did he expect to get two eyes full of Pepper Spray.

"AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGH!" He wailed, holding his eyes, prompting the second Sledge Bro to come in.

"Cool, now there are two weird things in here freaking me out." Pauline said, smirking. She reached for the maced Sledge Bro.'s Hammer on his belt and tossed it at the second one's face. It connected, breaking his beak, causing him to fall backwards into the wall, unconscious. Blood poured down his stomach from the horrible bludgeon.

The maced Sledge Bro. reached for his hammer, but it was no longer there. Pauline grabbed Princess Peach by the wrist and ran down the hall as though her life depended on it.

For all intents and purposes, if she stayed and did what Bowser wanted, she would not be granted freedom; but death. She had nothing to lose by saving Peach. If for nothing else, it would ensure Mario's happiness.

She still didn't quite know how she felt about all of this, but that was irrelevant. She was doing it. There was no turning back now.

When she and Peach turned the corner, they were beset by a legion of Koopatrols, just as Peach had warned.

"I'm sure there's another way out!" Pauline said, looking around, frenzied.

"Ummm..." Peach stammered nervously, as she saw Bowser himself standing in the hall behind the two of them, and Kamek hovering above.

They were screwed now.

They could not jump, for Kamek would blast, and/or cage them. They could not move forward, because there was no way they could defeat over 30 Koopatrols. And now, they could not turn back.

"My, my, my." Kamek mused. "Such valiance! Such audacity! Such a treacherous Macchiavell!"

Pauline had no idea what any of these words meant, but she somehow knew that the insane, blue-clad wizard was referring to her. She attempted to again hide the fear in her eyes. Peach turned to look at Pauline, and she sighed, defeated. "I told you it was impossible." she stated conclusively, hanging her head.

"No..." Pauline said, distracted while looking for a possible escape. Her eyes darted around the hallway, and she looked at a few loose ropes on the ceiling, which were too far from her reach.

Bowser immediately grabbed Peach.

"NO! HELP!" Peach wailed, horror spilling from her throat.

"PEACH!" Pauline cried back, reaching her hand out, turning her back to the Koopatrols.

"Don't kill her," Bowser stated. "I still need her to authorize my very public wedding." The Koopatrols stood down. "But," Bowser continued. The Koopatrols readied themselves for action again. "you guys can take her to the... let's call it 'Persuasion Room'. Have fun, Kamek."

Pauline released. She began to scream and cry and wail as three Koopatrols forcibly grabbed her and rushed down the hallway.

Peach looked on with horror, hanging over Bowser's right shoulder.

"PAULINE!"

The silence that followed was louder than the screams of the Princess.


	4. Shackled to a Wall

A thunderbolt flashed, and it began to rain outside.

"What will we do now, Mario?" Pauline said, sitting on the couch. "The whole day's shot. I hate rain!"

"Well, we can-a always play Scrabble!" Mario said, holding out the board game in its box.

Pauline shook her head. She didn't want to play Scrabble. "No, I'd rather not."

She preferred Monopoly, because she had always dreamed of owning property and playing the stock market, and selling houses. Perhaps it was from growing up poor to successless parents that made her this way.

"Why? Scared-a-that you'll lose?" Mario teased.

"Oh, brother! Let's go, then!" Pauline appended, feeling challenged. She sat right at the table quickly, and Mario came with the box. He unboxed the game and pulled out the board, the chips, and the pen and pad.

He split 5 letters between himself and Pauline.

Pauline got the letters "P-A-C-H-E".

Mario got the letters "A-P-O-K-O"

"Oh, this is an easy one." Pauline boasted. "'Peach'." As she observed the letters while putting them on the board, a smirk came on her face. "Looks like the 'P' is a Double-Pointer!"

Mario looked on confused. He did not understand the game any more than Pauline did, but the two of them had played it once before with Luigi as the arbiter, and he had explained the Double and Triple-Point letters and their functions.

"54 points." Pauline stated, proud.

"What?!" Mario cried out. "That's bullshit! How can-a you get that-a much?! "

Pauline didn't waste time showing him her pen and paper calculations, and moved to her drawer, where she had her calculator.

She returned to the table with the calculator in hand, and turned it so Mario could see it as she stood beside him.

"It comes to 54. I'm telling you! Look: the letters make 27, and because there's a Double-point counter on the 'P', and you multiply it by 2, you get..." she ecalculated on her calculator. "54. Ya see?"

Mario sulked. The mustachioed plumber was fed up of this game already, if an evening of this was going to come out of it. He got up from the table and walked over to the fridge and got himself a beer.

Pauline sighed exasperatedly.

Suddenly, water began to trickle down from the ceiling.

"Damn it," Pauline snarled, pounding her fist on the table. "this building is so old, I was wondering why this didn't happen sooner!"

"This isn't the rain, Paulie." Mario stated. "It's a leaky pipe. But yeah, it's-a not a surprise at all!"

Pauline looked to Mario and tilter her head slightly, and exasperated expression on her face.

"Yeah, yeah," Mario sighed. "I'll check it out."

* * *

It was all but a distant memory to her, as she lay down, chained to the wall. Pauline felt terrible; she missed Mario now, and wished her hardest that he would come and rescue her and the Princess.

The shackles were very tight on her wrists, and her wrists had begun to itch. The dripping pipe was driving her crazy, as well.

She couldn't help but think of the terrified expression on Peach's face earlier when she was dragged away by Bowser's minions. They must be truly planning something reprehensible to do to her.

All Pauline knew, was that if she signed on for Peach and Bowser's wedding, Mario would never forgive her.

Heck, she wouldn't even be able to forgive herself, either.

In the short time they had met, she had grown fond of Princess Peach. She was definitely the type of gal that she'd love to hang out at the Coconut Mall and go Bargain-hunting with. Pauline chuckled at the idea of a Royal person shopping at a Mall. Outrageous. But then again, Peach was a Lady of the people, so it could be possible. Perhaps one day she could get together with her and Mario and fulfill this dream.

If she survives this ordeal, of course.

A Shy Guy opened the door and came in. Its mask seemed to be staring into Pauline's very soul. The soulless eyes and gaping mouth made Pauline feel unsettled; she had never before encountered such a creature as this.

The Shy Guy refused to speak to her, and instead took out a Fire flower.

Pauline thought it looked pretty, as she did not know what it would do. When she saw the Shy Guy transform into an Orange colour with a white band and shoes, she remembered the day when she found a strange mushroom and gave it to Mario, and it caused him to double in size. (He was certainly good in bed after that, she could agree.)

She wondered what this was, exactly.

She found this out immediately when the Shy Guy shot a fire ball at her. Instinctively, even though she was chained to the wall, she quickly maneuvered her body to the left, letting the fire ball hit the wall where she was a second ago. The pulling caused the cuffs to tear into her wrist slightly, causing her to bleed.

Then came another fire ball. And another. And another. It was getting cumbersome, trying to dodge these things, and her wrists were wearing away under the rusted steel with every thrust to the side.

Could this be their plan? To kill her slowly, by her own hand? She was sure that if she kept this up, she would start wearing down into her own veins in her wrists. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she tried her best to conceal the pain that swept her.

The Shy Guy's expressionless mask made her feel like the victim in a horror movie.

If her ankles weren't shackled as well, she would have kicked that mask clean off his face. But then again, what could be underneath? Did she even want to know?

The Shy Guy shot again, and this time the Fire ball hit Pauline; it felt like a Hockey Puck bashing into her stomach, leaving an after-burn, which caused her flesh to blister. She cried out in pain.

Her shriek was so loud that Princess Peach heard it from the other side of the ship and cringed. Bowser grinned wickedly, and Peach quickly turned to face the nasty Koopa King. "What are they _doing_ to her?!" Peach demanded, very visibly concerned. The Princess was on the brink of tears. That scream had disturbed her greatly.

"Persuading her." the cruel demon turtle replied, with a wicked grin. "She'll eventually come around and see things my way, just as you will, Peach."

"I'll never 'see things your way'!" She spat.

Bowser shook it off and chuckled. When the Princess was worried about others, she tended to become extremely testy. He loved it. He was very much accustomed to it, after all the times he's kidnapped Peach and threatened her kingdom and friends.

"You will, one way or another." Bowser reassured.

Peach did not know what he meant by that, but she suddenly felt very concerned.

She hoped Mario would come soon.


	5. And if those Dark Clouds Start to Swirl

Mario had just finished traversing the Luncheon Kingdom with his hat ally, Cappy. The fat blue-wearing Broodal meant absolutely nothing to the plucky plumber, who stomped his head inwards as if he were a lowly Goomba.

Speaking of Goombas, Cappy had joked with Mario that if he could not have Peach or Pauline, he could always have the pink Goomba girl who fell smitten with him in his captured Goomba body. Mario contemplated flipping him off for that remark, but he decided to take the high road and continue on his journey.

He looked at the odd world around him and his thoughts drifted back to a time that was not so surreal.

At least, not for him.

* * *

 _"Mario!"_

 _"What is it, Paulie?" the preteen Mario in a blue shirt with red shorts asked, leaving his post as Goalie in the Soccer game, and dropping the ball to the floor._

 _A younger Pauline approached him quickly, wearing a raggedy old blue dress with her hair tied in a ponytail. She looked very distraught, almost to the point of tears. Mario sat down with her in the ugly junkyard and told Luigi and the other boys to continue without him. Luigi was then tackled by Wario and Waluigi stole the ball off of him._

 _Pauline was having trouble coordinating her words. She was sobbing and trying to hide from Mario. He did not understand what was going on, and it only made him worry. What could drive her, of all people, so hysterical? She was always level-headed, albeit headstrong, as well. Finally, after a chain of tears and sobs, she outed with it._

 _"My father had a heart attack!" she bursted. "He's in the St. Merlumina General Hospital! It doesn't look good! What can I do?"_

 _Mario hugged his weeping friend, He could never imagine what life would be like without his own father. It was a hard thought to bear. He could only scarcely imagine what she was feeling at this moment._

 _"I'm sure that-a Mr. Lombardi will-a be okay!" He said, trying to issue in some hope into the situation._

 _The poor Italian immigrant families in New Donk City tended to band together; Mario was not worried that Pauline and her mother would have nobody to turn to; heck, his family were always good friends with hers. They would jump to help if anything went wrong. Her family had helped his settle in after they escaped the Mushroom Kingdom when the Mario Brothers were only infants._

 _Pauline was beginning to calm down and regain her composure. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Y-you're probably right, Mario! I'm just making things far worse by panicking. Thank you."_

 _"It's-a not a problem!" Mario reassured. "Please, don't-a cry, Paulie!"_

 _She nodded, and stood up off the piece of scrap metal. She waved to Mario and ran her way home._

 _He stood for a moment, stupefied, only to be hit with the soccer ball on the back of the head by Wario. Waluigi was laughing at him, as well. Mario laughed it off, as he knew he would beat the crap out of them in a moment._

* * *

Mario leaped onto a Frying Pan Brother and kicked off his hat, replacing it with Cappy and capturing him. He then wrought destruction upon all the foes in his wake, mercilessly tossing frying pan after frying pan at them, and bashing cheese blocks along the way.

He could swear that one of them laughed at him like Waluigi had long ago. The satisfaction of breaking his teeth was certainly there.

After much traversing through hot liquid and meat and corn and other oddities, Mario found himself with a handful of Moons.

"Great!" Cappy exclaimed. "We can power up the Odyssey and head towards Tostarena from here!"

"I don't-a care about this 'Tostarena'!" Mario protested. "I want-a to go after Bowser and rescue Pauline and Peach!"

"Don't forget about Tiara!" Cappy whined. "She's being kept in a box somewhere in that disgusting ship!"

"Yes, yes." Mario dismissed. "And-a Tiara."

Cappy was agitated and surprised. Mario mentioned Pauline first and not Peach? What was this, exactly?

"You still have feelings for her, don't you?" Cappy teased.

"Eh? No. I'm not-a interested in a Diadem, thank-a you very much!" Mario looked at the hat spirit with bewilderment and outrage written all over his face.

"I'm talking about Mayor Pauline, dummy!" Cappy stated flatly.

"Pauline... an' I..." Mario mused. "we've been a dead thing for a long-a time, Cappy. Toast cannot-a be bread again." He shook his head. "Don't-a be stupid you felt-top freebie!"

Cappy rolled his eyes. "Don't try to 1-up me, please! Sheesh!"

Mario remembered the joke that he and Pauline made when they were dating many years ago.

* * *

 _"Mario, I had this shirt custom-made for you!" Pauline beamed proudly as she pulled out a gift bag from under the Christmas tree. She was being cautious around the lit fireplace. After all, she had spent a great deal of money on this gift for her special boy and herself, as well._

 _"Oh...?" Mario mused. "Is it-a one of the-a New Donk Dankees shirts? I would-a love to sit-a at the Diamond in one-a those!"_

 _She put it on his lap and he was in a hurry to open it. When he did, his goofy smile turned into a look of confusion. "Huh?"_

 _The shirt said in All Caps: "1-UP BOY"._

 _Pauline sat down beside him on the couch and then began to take off her long-sleeved shirt, and Mario nearly jumped. "Pauline! I'm-a not ready for that-a yet!"_

 _"No, silly!" She chuckled._

 _She was wearing a shirt underneath that read, also in All Caps: "1-UP GIRL"._

 _Mario started laughing. Pauline began to feel disappointed. She thought he would find it sweet; not strictly humourous._

 _"Oh, come on! I know how much you love those arcade games!" Pauline sulked. "I figured it would be cute."_

 _"It's-a PRICELESS!" Mario exclaimed jovially._

 _Pauline cracked a little smile, and then chuckled herself. "I guess it **is** a little silly." The word she really thought was 'corny', but 'silly' sounded more like it agreed with her, so she went with it. _

_"You are my-a 1-up girl, though." Mario stated. "You saved-a me from the streets when I lost-a my money."_

 _Pauline smiled. She would do anything for Mario; even helping pay off his Gambling debt and getting him Addiction counselling. It was very costly, but it was worth it, helping Mario out in a pinch._

 _"Oh, yeah! I got-a something for you, too!" Mario said, digging in his pocket. "Close-a your eyes!"_

"They're closed." Pauline said, even though she was peeking through the small opening she left between her fingers as she covered her face.

 _Mario pulled out a little box with a ribbon on it. Pauline's heart skipped a beat. There's no way he was proposing to her! They were just 19 years of age! Where could he get that kind of money? Bashing bricks with his head? Ludicrous._

 _"Pauline," Mario got down on one knee, sure enough. "you can-a open your eyes."_

 _"I DO!" she blurted out, startling the cat outside on the windowsill, causing it to slip on the ice and fall into a trash can._

 _"Whoa!" Mario fell backwards, surprised. "Well, uh... am I that-a obvious?"_

 _He opened the small box, and as sure as the day was short, there was a ring inside of it. Pauline's eyes welled up with tears as Mario put the engagement ring on her finger. "For-a my 1-up girl."_

 _Pauline rushed to embrace him. It was the happiest moment in her life, to be sure. If her Father was still alive at that point, Mario knew he would have rushed over and begun an interrogation. The plumber brushed the thought away and reciprocated his now-fiancée's embrace._

 _Little did either of them know, he would be gone for a long time after a plumbing job a couple of weeks after._

* * *

Mario felt like an asshole.

He was pining after a Princess who could have her pick of the men in the Kingdom, who had passively flirted with him, and who constantly finds herself haplessly kidnapped. What was he doing? Was he secretly hoping to achieve a wealthy status after a long life of poverty?

Perhaps.

But again, he truly cared about Princess Peach Toadstool. He felt it; the love was _real. It was there_. After many adventures, and maybe an occasional kiss on the nose, he felt underappreciated by Peach, and his love unreciprocated.

"Hey!" Cappy snapped him out of his funk. "Are you thinking about something? Can I see?"

"NO!" Mario snapped at him. "No. You can-a just mind-a your own business!"

"Sheesh! Someone's hostile." Cappy sneered.

Mario continued his walk towards the Odyssey, and not a single word was spoken since.

To be continued...


	6. Lunarcy

Bowser cackled. The giant, fat purple-haired female Broodal's idea was phenomenal.

"A wedding on the Moon! Forget New Donk City!" Bowser laughed. "I don't need that loudmouth's permission or legislative power to host a wedding there!"

Kamek turned to him. "And what if the X-Nauts still inhabit the Moon, sire?"

"Do you even have to ask, Kamek?" The Koopa King said, exasperatedly. "I've already sent the Koopalings with the rest of the Koopa Troop there to clean the moon of any potential pests."

"That is dark, Your Majesty." Kamek said, seething his teeth in sympathy fear.

"The Dark side of the Moon!" Bowser exclaimed suddenly. "Perfect! Mario is too stupid to think we'd be there!"

Kamek sighed. At times like these, he missed Kammy. Her death ten years prior left the Magikoopa force in disarray for a while, until he stepped up to the plate and put his foot down. He had raised Bowser with her, as parental figures, and he always snapped at them and belittled them for their trouble.

Kammy's daughter, Kamella, was working alongside Kamek from time to time, and he had sent her to her death at the hands of Mario during their last journey into Outer Space. He told her it was to secure Bowser's Galactic Empire. Ever since then, Kamek was skeptical about space travel.

"Hey, Kamek!"

"Yes, Your Meanness?"

Bowser eyed him like a dragon. "What's the news about Blabberbitch?"

"Who?"

"Mario's Ex." Bowser repeated, frustratedly. "You know we have to keep her alive for the time being, right? I want Mario to see me kill her!"

Kamek rather liked that idea, all things considered. The Koopa Wizard adjusted his blue hat. "I assure you that she's still alive." Kamek beamed. "In severe pain, but alive."

"Good. That's all that matters." Bowser growled, a small flare coming from his nostrils.

He hated Mario with a burning passion. Just the thought of him made the Koopa King rage. He got up from his seat. "Actually, Kamek; I want to see her for myself."

After some traversing through the labyrinth of a ship, Bowser found the chamber Pauline was in, and he opened the door. She was shackled to the wall, and her head was hung in exhaustion.

"Wakey wakey." Bowser said softly, yet mockingly. He put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face up to his. He did not expect the spit to go into his eye, but it did. "Arrrgh!" He began to wipe his eyes. "You _bitch_!"

Pauline was waiting to do that.

"Anyways..." Bowser was getting better at retaining his composure in these situations. He was just focusing on how he was going to kill her when Mario shows up instead. "about the City Wedding..."

"Still not happening!" Pauline immediately protested. "Look, you can do whatever you want to me, but I will never go through with it!"

"You won't _have_ to." Bowser stated, false honey dripping from his tone.

Pauline's cocky and adamant expression shifted to one of nervousness and anticipation. "What? What do you mean...?"

"My Wedding Advisor Madame Broode gave me an even better, more extravagant idea!" Bowser sang like a Crayzee Dayzee. He was practically dancing at the thought of this idea.

Pauline was thinking to herself: " _Ugh! Just get ON with it, already, you overgrown Ashtray!"_

"We're going to be married on..." Bowser performed his own manual drumroll on the back of his shell. "...the MOON!"

"The Moon?!" Pauline questioned in shock.

"The MOON!" Bowser repeated, just as enthusiastically as the first statement.

"That is ludicrous!" Pauline stated. "Nobody can go to the Moon, silly Dragon! Nobody has the technology to-I mean, even Professor E Gadd's rockets were stunning failures! It's just not-"

"My, your ignorance is astounding." Bowser laughed. "You can ask your precious Mario, who ruined my plans to create an Intergalactic Empire, and my own Galaxy, I might add, a decade ago! Ask him about Rosalina and the Comet Observatory, and about Lumas and about X-Nauts with teleporters linking the Moon to our Planet. Ask him! Ask him about the Shroobs, even. They were one of the reasons why Mario's parents decided to move to that trashcan of a City in the first place! Apart from Me and Kamek, of course."

"Mario was born in the Mushroom Kingdom?" Pauline asked. "I was sure he was from the Alternate Dimension of Earth! Like most of the Italian families in my neighbourhood; my own included!"

"Yep." Bowser stated. "It's almost as if it was fate that he'd leave you to return to us here. He knew the Princess, too, when he was a Baby. Surprise."

Pauline felt somewhat betrayed, not by Mario; but by fate. She looked down sadly.

"Don't look so down!" Bowser stated. "Here, have a 1-up!"

He pulled out a green mushroom with white spots and put it in her mouth. Pauline felt rejuvenated; like a new woman. All of the pain was gone, and her wounds healed entirely.

"See? I can be a nice guy, too." Bowser stated. "Look, I didn't want this to happen because I hate you or anything. I'm only doing this because I hate that pesky plumber!"

"So you're marrying Peach to spite Mario?"

"No, I'm marrying Peach because..." Bowser paused for a moment. He knew the old 'just wanting to rule the Mushroom Kingdom' bit was getting old, and it was not the only reason. He loved the Princess to death, unfortunately. He did not want to come across as a softie or a weakling. "I have feelings for her. I'm sure you understand that."

"I don't have feelings for her." Pauline stated, eying him as if he were crazy.

"No! I mean about you and Mario!" Bowser yelled. "You love that mustachioed bastard!"

Pauline looked away.

"And he still must care about you!" Bowser stated. "I am hurting you to spite HIM."

He walked away from her, towards the door. He stopped, and then looked back at her. "When we get to the Moon, and the wedding begins, you will have a front row seat. When Mario shows up after the ceremony is finished..."

Pauline feared what the next part of that statement would be.

"I'm going to kill you."

Pauline felt her heart stop for a brief moment. Her eyes flashed with terror. The Koopa King's icy gaze only served to tell her that he meant it. He would kill her the moment Mario realized what was going on. It was just as she thought. The 2% chance of her only being alive for the 'grand finale' was correct.

Her lip began to quiver, and her legs felt numb.

Bowser closed the door behind him, leaving her alone to stir in her thoughts.

Suddenly she missed Donkey Kong.

Bowser did not even tell her how he would kill her, if it would be slow and agonizing, or quick and painless. Or if it would be unsuspecting. Would she be able to convey her final thoughts to Mario as she lay dying in his arms, or would she lay on the cold floor?

These thoughts only made her more anxious.

She began to struggle in her chains once more, as they were slowly wearing out from her previous struggle. With her full strength returned, she would make a greater effort than ever before to break the shackles. She did not know how long it would take from here, or how much it would hurt, but she could care less. If she had to choose between pain or death, she would endure pain instead.

Meanwhile, Princess Peach was sneaking out of her temporary quarters. She feared what was going to happen to Pauline. She knew that Mario would be terribly upset if anything happened to her. On the other hand, she was also worried about Tiara, who was trapped inside a box below deck. She would have to get her first before she could get to Pauline.

The Princess ducked around many corners, evading detection by Bowser's goons, until she reached the cargo deck.

"Tiara?" she called out in a soft, low whisper.

"Mmmn hrrre!" a muffled voice called out from across the room. A small box was rattling slightly, and the Princess took the wooden plank that kept it shut off of it, causing the lid to fly open, and Tiara emerged from within. Peach hugged her new friend, as she was overjoyed to see her.

"Thank you, Princess! But your crown is in another airship!" Tiara teased in a friendly manner.

Peach giggled slightly. "Okay, Tiara. Are you ready to see your brother again?"

"Omigosh! Cappy! He's okay, isn't he?" Tiara immediately switched to concern.

"I hope so." Peach admitted. "But right now, I have a friend who I must rescue."

"A friend on board the ship? Toadette?" Tiara mused.

"No. You don't really know her. Well, to be honest, I don't really know her, either." Peach admitted.

"Then who cares? Let's go find Cappy and Mario!" Tiara complained. "We can't stay around here too long! We have to find an escape ship and get off of this scrap metal heap!"

"Tiara!" Peach scolded. "How can you be so cold? She tried to save my life earlier. I _must_ help her!"

"Fine." Tiara scoffed. "But if you get locked up in another gilded cage and I get turned into silverware, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Tiara went atop the Princess' head, and Peach slowly snuck out of the cargo deck. She was immediately spotted by a Red Koopa Troopa.

"HEY!" he yelled. "What are you-"

Tiara immediately reacted. She remembered what Cappy had once told her about being able to allow her wearer to possess other living beings. She tossed herself onto the Koopa's head and Peach got sucked right in.

The Princess was a little disoriented at first, but then looked down at her hands and noticed turtle claws.

"Yeek! What happened to me?!"

"We captured him! Omigoodness! We actually captured him!" Tiara exclaimed with excitement. "I have to tell Cappy about this! He'll be so proud of me!"

"Good job, Tiara!" Peach exclaimed, going along with the ambitious young hat spirit's joy. "Now, let's navigate the ship! Hopefully, nobody will find us suspicious."

As Peach roamed the halls of the airship using a Koopa Troopa's body, it turned out her gamble was a good one; none noticed the tiara and Peach's hairdo on another Koopa. She giggled at how stupid these things were.

This reminded her of the time where she dressed up as an X-Naut and roamed the halls of the X-Naut Moon base. Though, one was smart enough to notice her perfume underneath the costume, though they simply dismissed it as being gross.

With scents in mind, she realized that she smelled remarkably like a Turtle. It came with the territory, she thought. It then donned on her: _What if I can roll through here on my shell?_

She ducked inside the Koopa shell and began to roll down the hallway. She gained in much speed, that was for sure. The Goombas did not even know what hit them.

She came to a halt when she bounced off the large frame of a Chargin' Chuck.

"HEY!" he shouted in anger. "Who d'ya think you are, punk?!"

He kicked her and she flew backwards, out of the Koopa Troopa.

"Oh, shit!" The Chargin' Chuck exclaimed. "Princess, are you alright? I didn't see you there!" He became anxious. "Oh, man... King Bowser's gonna kill me..."

And with that, Peach picked up the Koopa Shell and tossed it right at his head, knocking him out cold. She had seen Mario do this once.

"Nice, Princess!" Tiara exclaimed. "Let's make a break for it!"

Peach nodded in agreement and recaptured the Koopa Troopa by throwing Tiara onto him.

When she crept down the hallway, she heard a low grunting sound coming from inside a dark room. She asked Tiara to look at the window above her to see what was inside, and Tiara came back down to her face level. "It looks like a woman with brown hair and a torn red suit."

"That's Pauline!" Koopa Troopa Peach exclaimed. She pried the door open and stepped inside.

Pauline took notice. "Great! Did Bowser change his mind now? Or are you bringing me food?"

"Neither." Peach said, as she leaped out of the Koopa. "It's me!"

"Peach!" Pauline exclaimed, overjoyed. "Thank Miyamoto! How did you escape? Did it have something to do with that turtle?"

"Yes!" Peach replied. "Now, there's no time! We have to get out _now_!"

"I'm way ahead of you." Pauline stated, slipping her hands out of the wall cuffs.

The two of them made a rush for an emergency port, and had a startling realization when they came by the window;

they were on the Moon.


	7. Rocky Preparations

They did not know what to do at this point.

Pauline, especially. She had never gone to the moon. Heck, she never even thought it was possible. Then again, there were many things she thought were impossible until she had seen them for herself. Mushrooms that make things grow larger, for starters.

* * *

 _It reminded her of the time when Mario saved her from Donkey Kong for the third time. After the ape somehow grew to a gigantic size and tried to kill Mario she found a strange set of blocks nearby, and after some digging, found a red and white Mushroom within one of them._

 _She showed it to Mario, and he took a bite of it, and he grew twice his natural size. She almost felt sorry for Donkey Kong when he tried to get Mario again, because he had a nasty beating in store for him. The Ape never bothered her again since._

 _Pauline was curious as to what other areas of Mario grew due to the mysterious Mushroom, and she asked him if he was curious._

* * *

"Pauline!" Peach snapped her out of her funk.

"Ummmm...?"

"What were you thinking about?" Tiara asked, curious. "Was it something naughty? I felt naughty vibes! Can I go on her head, Peach? I wanna see!"

"No, Tiara." Peach replied, exasperated. This replacement-Crown was getting on her nerves, but then again, so was everything else at this point. She hated the Moon. She remembered the last time when she was on the Moon: the X-Nauts held her hostage to be used as a vessel to resurrect the Shadow Queen. She was trapped in the bottom floor with only a computer named TEC-XX to keep her company. Then Grodus shut TEC down and took her through a transporter of sorts down below Rogueport's Sewers.

"You know, Pauline..." Peach began. "I've been on the Moon before."

"I know that Mario did." Pauline stated. "That big, scaly pile of burnt shit told me. Excuse the language." She quickly put two-and-two together. "He came to rescue you, didn't he?"

"Yes. From an evil Moon-Earth teleporting cult of space scientists called..."

"X-Nauts."

Peach was surprised. "Oh, I guess Bowser told you all about it, huh?"

"I just know about them and a Moon Base." She repeated what she had learned from Bowser.

"Well," Peach stated. "Mario came to rescue me and to retrieve a Crystal Star."

"Wow. The story keeps on getting more and more interesting." Pauline stated.

"And what if I told you I was possessed by a demon witch Queen?"

"No-!" Pauline's eyes opened wide. "Tell me all about it when they come in and grab us!"

Peach realized that while the three of them were busy gazing out at the Moon's surface, Bowser's minions were in the small port with them, and that escape was now futile; there was no way Peach, Tiara, and Pauline could take on a hundred Hammer Brothers, Magikoopas and Koopatrols.

The Princess felt like an idiot at this point, and sighed exasperatedly as she and her friends were escorted to the Moon's surface.

Pauline marveled at the rocky terrain. It reminded her of the failed Panettone she had made last year around the holidays. She could never get it quite right.

After a bit of walking, Pauline's eyes widened at the sight of a beautiful white Cathedral there; smack on the surface of the moon. Why was there a Cathedral on the moon? Who would attend Mass in zero-gravity?

The divine bells echoed through the empty vacuum of space, which she found odd, considering that everyone said that there was no sound in space. Come to think of it, she was able to hear their footsteps and was able to breathe, as well. None of this made any sense. Perhaps everything her teachers had taught her growing up was false.

When she looked to her right, she saw a perfect rock formation that looked almost like a stage, and immediately thought that this would make a great spot for a band performance, especially considering that sound did in fact reverberate on the moon.

She looked at Peach, who was frustrated, considering that she got nothing done in the last hour except getting captured yet again.

"Peach," Pauline called to her.

Peach looked at the red-clad Mayor.

"Yes?"

"Do you think that'd make a good spot for a band performance?"

She pointed to the stagelike rock formation.

"Why?" Peach asked. "Do you expect to bring a band up here?"

"Yes." Pauline smiled. "I know the perfect back-up band, too!"

"What are you two Chain Chomplets going on about?" Kamek called out from behind them, exasperatedly. "There will be no band! Keep moving!"

"A band?" Bowser called from in front, whirling around in excitement. "That's an excellent idea! Why didn't the Broodals think of that? Hey, who came up with that one?"

Pauline slowly raised her right hand.

"Huh." Bowser sneered in pleasant amusement. "That's right. You're the Mayor of New Donk City. I forgot after how useless you've been for the past airship ride."

Pauline did not approve, being insulted like so.

"So, what band do you have in mind? Any good singers?" Bowser mused.

"Well," Pauline began. "I can sing. I used to be a New Donk Showgirl, you know."

"You?" Bowser was surprised yet again. "Let's hear it!"

"Your Ugliness," Kamek stepped in. "you were going to kill her in front of Mario, remember? You can't-"

"Don't tell me what I can or can't do, Kamek!" Bowser snapped. "I didn't know she could sing before! This could save us some coin, you know? Before I throw this Canary in the firepit, I wanna know if her tune is sweet!"

He looked Pauline straight in the eye. "SING!" He commanded in a booming tone, which caused the Mayor to jump slightly.

"Oh... umm... ummm..." Pauline stammered. "I-if there's a tune you want..."

"Any tune! Just give me a sample!" Bowser said. "You have until we reach the Cathedral. 'Cause then, I'm going to tie you up."

A sweatdrop ran down Pauline's face. She bit her lip and nodded. She had a song in mind, but it felt extremely awkward. This song she had thought up quite some time ago for her special man; Mario. By quite some time ago, she was alone in a dark, terrifying room. She knew Peach would catch on and get angry, but it was the only song she had in mind at the present time.

She started off with a few scat notes, and slowly ushered herself into the song.

 _"Here we go, off the rails_

 _don't you know it's time to raise our sails_

 _it's freedom like you never knew._

 _Don't need bags, or a pass_

 _say the word, I'll be there in a flash._

 _You could say my hat is off to you."_

Peach looked at the anxious singer, and did indeed know who she was referring to in the song. Pauline looked at Peach and at Bowser. She felt her heart racing from the anxiety, but kept herself together. She imagined Mario holding her hand and walking with her through the lunar landscape, and felt a sense of comfort.

 _"Oh, we could zoom all the way to the moon frooom_

 _this great, wide, wacky world._

 _Jump with me, grab coins with me,_

 _ohhh yeeaaaah!"_

Bowser was enjoying her song, and was missing the whole point of it. He then raised his hand. "Okay, I've heard enough. You can shut up now."

Pauline stifled herself, and pure hatred could be seen in her eyes. She could not stand this awful turtle tyrant. But still, she feared the worst. She hoped that her singing would have been good enough to keep her alive past the ceremony.

Bowser bared his fangs in a revolting grin. "You were great! I have a great plan for you! I'll write you a song, and when Mario comes, you're gonna sing it to him! On a stage in the wedding hall!"

Kamek facepalmed. He knew Bowser couldn't just stick with the original plan. He never could. He always deviated from their designs and failed as a result of it. Why would this time be any different?

"So, you're not going to kill me after all?" Pauline asked insecurely as they reached the front doors of the Cathedral.

"No..." Bowser stated, grinning. "I think this'll hurt Mario enough. I better get to writing that script."

If not, he would return to plan A and kill her.

The last Koopa Troopa closed the large doors behind them.


	8. Confessions and Reflections

A few days of Earth time have passed, and Mario had collected many Power Moons and various memorabilia during his visitations to many lands. The last Broodal who he had fought, Topper, had spilled the beans about Bowser's moon wedding before Mario could stomp his throat inwards. The Plumber had then allowed him to live and rushed to his ship.

The Odyssey was in full force, headed straight for the Moon.

Mario's blue eyes brimmed with determination and hope. He was going to put an end to Bowser. He was not going to allow anything to happen to the women he loved. He felt the fire burning within his chest and in his knuckles.

He wiped underneath his nose and turned away from the window and sat in his chair for the meantime. His new beige-coloured dog lay on the floor and looked up at him, confused and wide-eyed.

Mario's ship cruised fast, but not fast enough, he found. The plumber was antsy and could not sit still.

"You know," Cappy began. "it would be better if you saved that pent-up energy for your confrontation with Bowser."

"I-a know."

Cappy did not know what to say to console Mario. The hat spirit could feel the tension in the air, as well as the love and determination. He could tell that both Peach and Pauline meant a great deal to the hero. He knew that it would be very tragic if Mario were to lose either one of them. He would be horrified himself, if anything happened to Tiara.

Cappy flew over to Mario's bureau and opened it up. Inside, he found a wedding tuxedo. "Huh. Planning for something, Mario?"

"Eh?" Marios attention was grabbed. He noticed the tuxedo that Cappy was joking about. "Shut up!"

"Oh, come on!" Cappy said in a rolling tone of voice. "You should totally show up to Bowser's wedding and wear this!" He chuckled after stating that. "Maybe you can get the Intermediator to marry you and Peach instead!"

"Pauline will-a be the Intermediator." Mario said, his voice filled with regret. He felt sorry for Pauline. He knew it would hurt her the most. He stood up again and walked back to the window.

From space, he could see the white Cathedral standing tall on the Moon's surface. He knew that it had all come to this. The kidnappings at the Mushroom Kingdom and New Donk City, the Broodals' attacks, everything. What was Bowser planning?

Mario felt something sinister in all of this, and feared for his ex-girlfriend more than he feared for Peach. He knew all too well what the Koopa King was capable of.

* * *

Meanwhile, Peach was in her waiting room. It had been an entire day since she last spoke to Pauline on the moon's surface.

She could not stand Bowser for what he was doing. She had had her quarrels with him in the past over his terrible treatment of his minions and unorthodox way of dealing with other nations and his awful manners at the dinner table, but what lengths he was going to to hurt Mario... this was new, and this was vile. This was beyond vile.

So much hatred.

And where hatred is concerned, innocents are harmed.

"Peach, are you ready?" Tiara asked.

"Of course." Peach said, brushing her hair while looking at the mirror. "I'm going to be married to a monster while the love of my life gets to watch his former love sing words of hatred towards him and potentially die afterwards. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Tiara closed her eyes and breathed a sympathetic sigh. She did not fully understand the situation, as she had not known Peach and Mario and Bowser long enough to. She floated beside the princess and gazed at their reflection in the mirror. Peach looked sadder than usual, and a lone tear formed in her left eye duct. It escaped and fell down her cheek.

The Princess was used to being captured, held hostage, possessed, and even injured, but this was something new entirely. The Princess had to bear witness to a tragic heartbreak waiting to happen. On her wedding day. And there was nothing that she could do to help. She felt more helpless than she ever had. Her heart itself was aching when she thought about Mario's being broken. He had done so much for her, and she cared deeply for him.

The Princess wiped the tears away with her glove, and sniffled a little.

"Are you all right?" Tiara asked, now concerned.

"Tiara..." Peach said, her voice breaking. "why did this have to happen? Why did I suggest that our wedding be outside the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"I'm not sure," Tiara stated innocently. "I think you didn't want your people to see it happen."

"I was too proud to allow it!" Peach said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I told him that it would be better if we married in a land far from ours. Perhaps in the Metropolitan Kingdom..."

"Right." Tiara issued for her to continue.

"I didn't know that he would kidnap the Mayor!" Peach raised her tone. "Even more still, I didn't know that she was connected to Mario! I didn't know that the Mayor was a 'she', to begin with, let alone Pauline!"

"You've never looked into other kingdoms?" Tiara asked.

"No! Just the neighbouring BeanBean Kingdom!" Peach confessed. "I didn't think I needed to keep up-to-date with the Metro Kingdom! The last time we dealt with them was when Donkey Kong imported some Bananas from there to our Party game many years ago."

"Bananas for a party game? Sounds awfully sketchy, Princess."

Right away, Peach's face turned red. "No! It's nothing dirty, Tiara! We would collect the Bananas, and one would be worth a certain number of coins, and then we would cash them in at the end, and..."

Tiara yawned.

"Yes, well..." Peach held herself together. "the point is that I haven't heard anything of the Metro Kingdom in years. If I had known that Mario's ex-girlfriend was the Mayor there, I would have redirected Bowser somewhere else."

The Princess stood up. "Pauline shouldn't even be here! She's here, and she's going to die because of a mistake I made!"

Tiara simply remained silent.

Peach rested her hand on her forehead in shame and regret. In the end, she would only bring harm to the one who saved her time and time again. How could she live with herself?

* * *

Bowser opened the door leading to Pauline's temporary room. "Okay, Crayzee Dayzee, are we ready to sing?"

Pauline did not appreciate the nickname. She instead looked away, not gratifying him with an answer.

"Well, you will, of course." Bowser reminded her. "Or I'll just go with Plan A."

"That's the 'kill me' Plan, isn't it?" Pauline asked, exasperatedly.

"You got that right!" Bowser said, fiendishly.

"Yeah, I'll sing..." Pauline said.

Bowser smirked.

"...When Mario kicks your scaly ass!"

Instantly, the Koopa King's face dropped. "Feisty to the end." Bowser rolled his eyes. "It's not helping your case, just so you know."

He closed the door, and Pauline reread the horribly-written slur song she had to recite before her ex-lover.

She hoped he would know that this was not from her heart. She hadn't seen Mario in such a long time, after all. He could take Bowser's song as her heartfelt confession of hatred, which she wished she could tell him was not the case.

She took one final look at the script and then crumpled it and snuffed it in her pocket. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened the door, and walked downstairs to join the temporary band Bowser had provided for her then and there. She could tell by looking at the Shy Guy on the drums, the Goomba on the bass guitar, the Parabuzzy on the saxophone, and the Hammer Bro on the piano that this was going to be awful. No wonder Bowser wanted a different band.

She turned to them. "Okay, let's start this rehearsal."

Sure enough, it was as bad as she thought it would be. She wished that she could ship her Band of Human Musicians to the moon. Even she and Bowser knew that there was no time for that, though. The wedding had to commence, and she supposed that Mario must be near the moon by this point for Bowser to rush her like this.

She would finally get to see her 1-up Boy again, after so many years.

* * *

The Odyssey landed on the Moon's surface, in a landing pad designated specifically for it. Mario was disgusted at the sight of it. He knew that Bowser was anticipating his arrival, but this felt like more of a mockery than anything.

The plumber ran along the rocky moon surface, and attempted to pick up the pace by long-jumping. He found out that his long-jumps made him lose speed, as the zero-gravity buffered his landings. He rolled himself into a ball like he had seen his former rival, Sonic, do on many occasions.

Eventually, after a ten-minute traverse, the plumber made it to the Cathedral doors. He could not figure out why there was a Cathedral conveniently located on the Moon, himself, but decided that there were more important things to worry about.


	9. My Big, Fat, Koopa Wedding

Mario pushed open the double doors and entered the Cathedral. He dusted off his white tuxedo and Cappy opened his eyes. He was enjoying being in possession of a white top hat.

The first room was gorgeous and white, with stained glass windows and gorgeous decorative columns. As expected, he heard an organ playing a wedding song from the other side of the next set of double doors before him.

"This is it." Mario said, anxiously. It was time to finally put an end to this madness.

When the plumber opened the next set of doors, the organ stopped playing, and there she stood before him, in the flesh. Her brown hair glowing ominously in the light of the Cathedral, and her eyes set on him, anxiety filling them.

Mario almost choked down a sob, but kept his composure.

"Pauline..."

Pauline looked straight at Mario, up and down. It was him. It was really him. Why was he in a tuxedo? He wasn't planning to marry Peach in front of her, was he?

Before she could so much as squeeze in a 'hi', the god-awful Bowser Band began playing. Pauline just knew that Bowser was behind the curtain, listening in, so she began as well.

 _"Mario, you're a fool,_

 _nothing but a simple tool._

 _You can't even save your women from the rain!_

 _You allowed the Princess, again,_

 _the Mayor as well_

 _to be captured,_

 _because you are nothing but cheating scum!"_

Mario's eyes opened wide. He couldn't believe his ears. This is how she greets him after so many years of being apart?

 _"If you think that I'll forgive,_

 _you for this, you piece of shit,_

 _you had better think or you won't live!_

 _If I ever see you in my city, know_

 _that I won't allow you in!_

 _You're officially banned from New Donk forever_

 _and I want to see you slain!"_

Mario didn't know what to say at this point. He knew she would be upset, but to say such awful things, and in such an unpoetic manner...

Bowser! Of course! The plumber shook his head in disapproval.

 _"You have failed,_

 _your ship has sailed,_

 _your Princess wailed,_

 _my heart is veiled,_

 _your blood will be trailed,_

 _I hate you more than..."_

The band hit a pause, and Pauline tapped her foot for a moment.

 _"New Donk Vale!"_

She did not want to use the original sentence that Bowser had written, so she used the name of their High school to fill in the blank.

Bowser, behind the curtain on the other side of the room, reread his script, and realized that he had written "your hideous stubby tail." He shook his head at her butchering of his magnificent slander against Mario's manhood.

 _"If you think you stand a chance,_

 _please take your stance,_

 _face the greatest guy,_

 _the Koopa King,_

 _who's sexy, smart, and sly,"_

Bowser beamed proudly behind the curtain. He especially loved hearing it come from Mario's former girlfriend's mouth.

 _"And lose your mind before you die!_

 _Mario, I hate you, I always have._

 _I always will, and that's a fact!_

 _You chose that bottle-blond bimbo_

 _before this sexy brunette,_

 _who you left in limbo,_

 _truggling to live in a harsh city._

 _Now, now, I don't need your pity._

 _I need you to fall to the king!_

 _My great Lord Bowser, that's the thing;_

 _he showed me something you don't know;_

 _he's a great lover, from head to toe!"_

She almost gagged saying that line, and a visible wince was made between lines. Bowser was practically dancing like a jester.

 _"Big and burly,_

 _strong and surly._

 _Spiky, burny (burny? burny!_

 _With breath that churns a powerful roast,_

 _face it Mario, your ass is toast!_

 _If you want to please Pauline,_

 _be ghost!_

 _It's only fitting, it seems."_

Pauline dropped the microphone then and there. She felt disgusting. "I can't do the rest. I'm done. I am not singing about how I need your engorged-" She cut herself off from disgust. "Do you hear me, you cowardly tortoise?! You're sick! SICK!" The band kept on going, too stupid to realize that Pauline stopped singing.

She and Mario looked at each other, and there was a million things she wanted to tell him. But now was not the time.

Bowser rushed through the hidden door behind the curtain with him and immediately took out his ginormous diamond ring and ran to get Peach. It was time for the marriage. Pauline's death would come after.

"A-are you-a okay?" Mario asked.

"I'm... okay." Pauline said with a nod. "You're just in time!"

"This is Pauline?" Cappy asked. "She's pretty hot." He whispered to Mario.

"Shut up." Mario whispered back. He turned to his ex. "I've-a gotta stop this wedding!"

"Absolutely!" Pauline agreed. "I can't stand to see that green and yellow bastard marry that poor Princess!"

Mario was surprised by what he was hearing. He thought that Pauline would hate Peach, all things considered. It seems as though she befriended her instead.

The two of them ran through the room into another hall, where the organ music resumed from where it had left off before.

Another large set of double doors was before them. Mario was so angry that he broke it open by tossing his hat at it several times.

When he and Pauline entered, there was Bowser and Peach, before the altar.

"I-A OBJECT!" Mario cried out.

"I OBJECT, AS WELL!" Cappy cried.

"I OBJECT, TOO!" Pauline cried out behind him.

Kamek, who turned out to be the Intermediator for the wedding, sighed stressfully. "I didn't get to that point yet."

"Mario!" Peach called out, in a relieved and musical tone. "I knew you'd come and save me!"

"Always!" Mario affirmed, nodding. The fire in his eyes was real.

Pauline felt a tingle of sadness in her chest, but decided to bury it for now.

The other guests at the wedding included many of Bowser's underlings, as well as members of the various species Mario had befriended on his tedious quest.

"999 Power Moons later and you're still the biggest loser in the universe!" Bowser growled.

"What-a do you mean?" Mario asked, confused and upset.

"You can only save one woman, Mario."

"What?"

"NOW!" Bowser yelled.

Mario heard a faint cocking sound and turned his head to look. A Koopa Troopa loaded a Bullet Bill into a cannon and pointed it in Pauline's direction. She was afraid and looked above and around, expecting something bad to happen, when a loud **'bang'** reverberated through the wedding hall.

 **"NO!"** Princess Peach cried in such a way that caused physical pain to all in the hall. Bowser covered his unseen ears and winced in pain, dropping the large ring that he was trying to force on Peach.

Pauline immediately fell to the floor, banging her jaw.

The room grew silent. Pauline slowly opened and closed her eyes. She then slowly sat up and looked behind her.

Mario lay there in the Cathedral Wedding Hall, on the cold marble floor, with a Bullet Bill stuck in his stomach. Blood puddled around the plumber, and Pauline started to cry. She could not help it. She rushed forward and held Mario's hand. "N-no... M-Mario..."

Peach dropped her bride's bouquet and shoved Bowser out of her way, which caught the mighty Koopa King off guard, causing him to stumble backwards. "MARIO! MARIO!" She wailed as she ran fast down the aisle.

Pauline had his head resting on her lap, and Peach ran forward and dropped to her knees, placing her hand on her hero's cheek. Tears streamed down her face, and she wailed in agony at the sight of what had just happened.

The King of the Koopas was stunned, as well. He could do nothing except stare and process what was happening.

A few guests were marveling in fear at what transpired before their very eyes, as well.

Bowser finally caught himself and laughed. "The Mighty Mario, everybody!"

His minions laughed and mocked their old foe as he lay dying with his damsels before him.

Pauline couldn't hold Mario tight enough. His breathing was becoming shallow and his vision blurry.

"Don't-a cry, Princess..." he said, looking at Pauline. "It's-a me, Mario..."

Peach was confused. "The blood loss must be affecting his mind!" she said, panicking.

Tiara and Cappy were reunited, but they did not know what to do.

"W-w-wait! Mario, I-I think I have an idea!" She looked at Peach. "D-do you remember what you did to that red turtle back on the ship the other day?"

"W-what?" Peach asked, sobbing.

"Can your cap do that, Mario?"

Mario could no longer answer. He was slipping, and things were dire. Peach was panicking and could not access her magical powers to heal him as a result of her mental state of anguish.

"Hey, (sniff) Mario-hat guy!" Pauline said, stifling her sobs.

"Who, me?" Cappy asked anxiously.

"Can you and Mario possess things, too?"

Peach caught on.

"'Too'? Tiara, you...?" Cappy looked at his sister-hat, shocked.

"Yep, that's right! I captured a Koopa!"

"Okay, can you, Cap-guy?" Pauline asked, trying to hurry things up for Mario's sake.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Cappy stated.

"Make Mario possess something! That way he can survive!" Pauline yelled.

Cappy looked around and everybody was wearing a hat.

"Possess ME, then!" Pauline yelled.

"What?" Cappy protested. "Ew, that's gross! I know you probably want him inside you, but..."

"I only want to help him! Shut up and capture me!" Pauline demanded to the immature hat spirit. "Or I'll stomp you into the ground!"

Bowser was surprised at how stubborn Pauline could be. He found it somewhat endearing. Perhaps he was kidnapping the wrong woman all these years.

"Okay, then." Cappy said dryly. "But don't get mad at me when you sprout a moustache!"

"What?!" Before Pauline could have time to react, Cappy leaped onto her head and Mario was pulled within him.

Sure enough, Pauline had Mario's cap, but with eyes, and a moustache.

Princess Peach felt extremely awkward and confused at the sight of this.

"Peach...?" Mario-Pauline asked. "What's-a going on? Where's-a Pauline...?"

"Look in the mirror, Mario." Peach stated.

"Eh?"

The plumber looked down and quickly realized what happened.

He was possessing Pauline! "Eeeeyaaa!" He cried. "No-! I've-a gotta get outta her!"

"I-it's only temporary, Mario." Peach tried to comfort the manic plumber. "Until we can get you to a doctor or something. She volunteered herself."

Mario was certainly shocked. He expected more hostility and resentment to be shot his way, but as he was inside her head, all he felt was Pauline's mixed emotions of anger, confusion, and yet love, worry, and compassion.

He didn't want to stay in this body for too long, and figured out a plan. He turned to Peach and whispered something in her ear.

Bowser was simply bewildered, looking at Pauline with Mario's hat and 'stache. He didn't expect it when Princess Peach's tiara whizzed through the air and knocked his top hat off his head. Pauline-Mario ran down the aisle straight for him, and Mario gave him no time to react; he jumped out of Pauline and threw Cappy right onto Bowser's head, and rushed through the Koopa King.

Bowser's minions, Kamek included, collectively gasped.

Pauline was dizzy, and held one hand on her head. When she looked up, Bowser stood in front of her, offering her his hand to help her stand. She was hesitant at first, and even afraid, all things considered. When she saw the cap and moustache, however, she felt relieved and took the monstrous turtle's hand, as she knew it was Mario.

A memory then hit the Mayor.

* * *

 _She and Mario were at the Beach one day, and the sky was clouding over. The wind wasn't exactly gentle, and the air was damp._

 _"Well, I guess that puts an end to that." Pauline resigned. "I knew we should have checked the weather before we came out here!"_

 _"Well, it's not-a your fault that the-a TV is-a broken." Mario reminded her. "It was-a Waluigi's fault, spilling his-a beer on it. I think-a he did it on purpose!"_

 _"I'll bet." Pauline agreed with a frustrated sigh._

 _The rain started just then, as a light drizzle._

 _"Shit!" Pauline snapped. "Beautiful! Just what we needed!"_

 _Mario shrugged. "We would've gotten-a wet anyways."_

 _Pauline's anger immediately subsided and she thought on that. "Yeah, that's true." She was, after all, standing there in her red bathing suit. It seemed that she always liked to wear the colour Red. Perhaps it was to match Mario's style._

 _"Let's-a go!" Mario yelled, running towards the ocean._

 _"Hey!" Pauline called out, an arm extended towards Mario. "Wait a second! What if it's a lightning storm? That would be pretty stupid!"_

 _"Well, I do-a a lot of stupid things." Mario said, as if it were an excuse._

 _"Yeah, I guess chasing a giant ape on construction girders isn't exactly safe." Pauline shrugged as she stated it. "But still, let's play it safe for today, alright?"_

 _"Fine." Mario sulked. The plumber would never usually let things stop him from doing what he wanted; he was very determined and persistent. Pauline could not figure out where this determination came from or why he had it, but he always did._

 _Pauline felt small next to the plumber, ironically. She was more the stubborn type herself, but unfortunately, she did at times let things stop her from doing what she wanted to do. In this case, she would rather play it safe._

 _Mario took her by the hand. "Let's-a go for a pizza instead."_

 _She walked along with the plumber. It sounded like a better way to spend the evening, considering that there was a Pizza restaurant near the beach. It would not be such a waste of time in the end._

* * *

Princess Peach cleared her throat.

Bowser-Mario and Pauline looked at Peach.

Princess Peach called their attention towards the horde that was readying to attack them. Bowser's legion was not happy, to say the least. Their king was possessed by their mortal enemy now, and both the Princess and the Mayor were about to slip from their grasp. Things were not looking too good at this point, and they began loading their Bullet Bill cannons and lighting Bob-ombs.

An onslaught of explosive artillery headed towards the three heroes and cap spirits.

Bowser-Mario instinctively leaped in front of both Peach and Pauline and guarded them from the Bullet Bills and Bob-ombs that were being thrown their way. His shell absorbed blast after blast, and he held his sweethearts close to his chest. Mario didn't mind borrowing Bowser for this.

He then turned around and breathed a massive wave of fire at the enemies, effectively scorching all the ones in the front. He placed Pauline and Peach on his shoulders and turned towards the entrance door.

It was time to end this wedding.


	10. A Stellar Escape

Mario, possessing the Koopa King, carrying both Pauline and Peach, tore through the Cathedral doors and burned his way through the onslaught of enemies rushing at him, attempting to hinder his progress.

"Mario!" Pauline cried. "A Bullet Bill at 3:00!"

Mario-Bowser turned his head to the right and blasted a fireball, causing the Bullet Bill to explode upon impact. He turned back to Pauline. "I'm-a sick of those things, anyway!"

Peach looked far ahead and spotted the Odyssey, parked on the Lunar's edge, glistening in the beautiful sunlight, awaiting them. The sky framed it beautifully with its boundless stars. The trio had been too caught up in everything that went on to appreciate the splendor of the Moon and space in its entirety. Unfortunately, they would not be able to enjoy it to its fullest even now, as they were being hounded by Bowser's minions, all crying for Mario to get out of their King's body and drop dead.

A Chargin' Chuck attempted to ambush Mario-Bowser from behind a large Moon Cliff, but was bounced back by his own tackle, due to the great girth of Bowser's body. Mario-Bowser immediately split him in 3 fine-cut slices with his knifelike claws. The lack of gravity on the Moon caused his blood to float up into the aether and disappear slowly.

Mario-Bowser continued ramming through Moon rocks and made his way close to the Odyssey, when a blinding light formed in front of it. Kamek teleported in front of the Oddyssey and gestured for the trio to approach with a sinister smile and his wand in his other hand.

Pauline was not liking this. She took off one of her heels and threw it right at Kamek's head, the spike going right through his glasses and into his right eye. The Magikoopa wailed and Mario-Bowser kicked him as if he was training the Chargin' Chucks how to kick a football. Kamek's wails of hatred and agony could be heard as he slowly wafted away into the boundless vacuum of space.

Pauline clicked her tongue. "What a waste." The Mayor said, regretting having thrown her shoe.

The group made their way to the Odyssey, and Mario-Bowser issued for Peach and Pauline to go inside, and they did, joining his new pet dog. The dog barked at Mario-Bowser as he tried to squeeze in through the small doorway.

"I can't-a fit in." Mario stated frustratedly. "I have-a to get out of this fat piece-a shit!"

"But if you do that you'll die!" Peach shouted.

Pauline was rummaging through the drawers in Mario's ship. "Princess," she asked. "what does a 1-up Mushroom look like?"

"Huh?" Mario-Bowser looked at her in confusion. Suddenly it hit him like a group of Thwomps; he had kept a spare 1-up Mushroom that he had found during his travels to Fossil Falls. He didn't think it would come in handy, but still, the heroic plumber always liked to be prepared.

"A 1-up Mushroom has a green cap with white spots on it." Peach replied.

Pauline took it out. "This is it!"

At that moment, Mario leaped out of Bowser, casting the dazed Koopa King back onto the Lunar surface. The plumber then fell to his knees, blood continuing to pour out from where it left off earlier. "Give-a me... the Mushroom..." he said weakly, his eyes clouding over.

Quickly, Pauline passed it to Peach, who placed the Mushroom inside the weakened plumber's mouth.

It took a second, but Mario began to heal from his wounds.

A tear rolled down Princess Peach's cheek. She felt a whirlwind of emotions; fear, horror, and relief.

Mario slowly sat up and Pauline stared at him in awe. She could hardly believe it herself. A small smirk arose on her lips, and she playfully turned to him. "I guess I really was your 1-up girl, wasn't i?"

Mario chuckled at the corniness of her joke, referencing a time long past. Princess Peach, however, was not amused by this joke. She was beginning to feel threatened. "Can you... respect what we have going on here, Pauline? Or is it too much to ask?"

Pauline's joyful demeanor began to turn sour. "What? Peach, relax! I'm not trying to overstep any boundaries, here."

"Really?" Peach stood up, becoming defensive. "That isn't what that remark sounded like."

"Sweetheart, why can't I joke with an old friend?" Pauline said, a tinge of sadness hidden deep in her tone.

Mario began to feel stuck. He did not want a part in this quarrel between the women who he cared for. He decided to sit in his relaxing chair for the meantime and let the two women argue it out amongst themselves. He desperately needed the rest, especially considering what he had just gone through.

"MARIO! LOOK OUT!" Cappy cried, looking out the window.

No sooner did the Hat Spirit cry his warning than a Banzai Bill rocked the Odyssey, causing everyone inside to fly against the back wall.

"...What...?" Pauline said, rubbing her head in pain and confusion, trading a look of concern with the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. Before she could get up to go and check the window, however, Mario stopped her and went to see for himself. His dog hid underneath the bed.

When Mario looked out the Odyssey window with Cappy and Tiara hovering over him, he caught a glimpse of horror; Bowser stood on the edge of his Airship, loaded Banzai Bill cannons on the sides of it, all aimed at the Oddyssey.

"We're in trouble." Cappy stated the obvious.

(Cue the Mario Galaxy Airship theme here, please ;) )

"Okay, plumber!" Bowser called out angrily. "Stopping my wedding to the voluptuous Princess Toadstool is one thing, destroying my castles every chance you get is another thing. Heck, beating my children on many occasions, obliterating my Wedding planners, and jettisoning my Royal Wizard into the cosmos doesn't even faze me that much. But invading Casa del Koopa?! That's a line you should've never crossed, and by Miyamoto, I'm gonna make you pay for it!" He turned to his minions operating the cannons. "Blow them outta the skies!"

One of the Koopas seemed almost too happy to light the fuse. A Banzai Bill rocketed through the Galaxy, and Mario rushed to the steering wheel. With a sharp turn, he dodged the hissing missile.

"Is-a that all you got, Turtle soup?!" Mario taunted the Koopa king, a middle finger stuck his direction in addition to the slur.

Bowser snarled with fury. Steam came out of his nostrils. His eyes lit up with rage and unquenchable hatred. "Get out of my way, you blithering, incompetent idiot!" He grabbed the Koopa that was manning the Banzai cannon and tossed him overboard into space. He was in control now, and he was sure that he would destroy Mario.

"I-a wouldn't do that, if I were-a you!" Mario teased some more. "I've got-a the Princess aboard! You don't-a wanna blow her up too, do ya?"

"SHE HAD HER CHANCE!" Bowser roared. "SHE COULD HAVE BECOME THE QUEEN OF THE GALAXY! SHE REJECTED ME ONE TIME TOO MANY!" He fired more bullets and Mario masterfully dodged every single one of them, causing Bowser to wail in frustration and anger and stomp his foot on the deck like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

After more failed blasts, Bowser finally snapped. He jumped up and down, which proved to be a fatal mistake. He overestimated the decorated ship's ability to contain his great weight, and he smashed right through the deck, right through the airship, and right into space.

Pauline scrambled over to the window and gazed out at the spectacle. She mockingly smiled and waved to the drifting Koopa King. "Good-bye, you giant ashtray!"

Princess Peach leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes and sighed. It was finally over. The Princess began to feel the sweet release of freedom and security return to her. She looked over at Mario and at Pauline and smiled.

"Thank you, Mario."

"It's-a always a pleasure, Princess." Mario said, removing his cap and bowing forward in a respectful manner.

Pauline closed her eyes and sighed. She had nostalgic feelings flood her heart and being. She remembered the solace she had felt after Mario had saved her from Donkey Kong all those years ago. She smiled. She turned and gazed out the ship window again, and the sight of a familiar city came into view; New Donk was down below.

She knew that she would have to have the city workers take down the Wedding Posters that only seemed to disrupt the beautiful atmosphere of New Donk. It wasn't a huge Kingdom, but it was home, and she loved taking care of it. It was a small city, but it was filled with so many childhood memories. Both good and bad. For better or for worse, she had chosen to stay there her entire life.

She saw the love in Mario's eyes when he looked at Peach, and she closed her eyes. She did not want to come between the two lovers, even if she knew Mario for the longest time. She sat down on the bed and looked down at her torn outfit and missing shoe. It wouldn't be the first time she'd return home looking like that. It reminded her of the Mini-Marios incident where Donkey Kong kidnapped her because he wanted a Mini-Pauline and they were sold out. Mario had saved her that time too, but it cost her her favourite red dress in the end.

Mario looked back at his old love and felt somber. He knew that toast could never be bread again at the end of the day, even though he could still feel that old spark when he was around Pauline. The plumber adjusted his cap over his eyes and readied to dock the Odyssey in New Donk City.


	11. The Closing Curtains

The Odyssey landed in New Donk City, in front of the City Hall. A large crowd of people gathered to see what the spectacle was about, and some police officers had their guns drawn, ready to fire in case it would be more Koopa shenanigans.

When the door opened, Mario, Peach, Pauline, Cappy, and Tiara were met with a sea of applause and a crowd filled with happy and relieved citizens. Soon enough, the media also arrived and swarmed around the group, taking pictures and a few people asking the Mayor what she had gone through. Pauline refused to comment, and made it back inside with her friends.

Deskworkers immediately stood up and her personal assistant offered to bring her a new change of clothes from the Crazy Cap clothes store, and she gave her the go-ahead.

It was a long day, and it all came to a halt when Pauline stood on the podium before the people.

"Good evening, New Donk City." She began. Her words were met with whistles and cheers. "As I'm sure you are all well aware, I was kidnapped by the Koopa King. I owe my life and much gratitude to Mario, who, if it were not for, I would not be alive to speak to you about this right now. The rumors you have heard about the Koopa clan from many a Mushroom are correct-they are ruthless, and they will stop at nothing to achieve what they desire; as I am living proof. Their leader, King Bowser, held me hostage and attempted my life due to me disagreeing with hosting his wedding here. I felt that our city and the Princess deserve to have our dignity kept."

A few people nodded in agreement and a few whispers and murmurs could be heard among them.

"Now, we no longer have to worry about the Koopas." Pauline reassured. "Their foul King threw himself into space in an act of foolish desperation. Surely he is dead. Now, New Donk will resume in its girder repairs, Infrastructural Operations and Recreational Activities as of Monday."

The audience applauded, and Mario was joined with Peach in the back, sitting down and resting their legs. They had been through very much. Mario applauded, and Peach followed suit.

Mario was hypnotized, watching Pauline at the podium explaining her next plans for the city, and eventually, his wide smile began to drop. His heart began to sank when he realized that he and the Princess would have to be leaving soon to return to the Mushroom Kingdom. Loud cheers filled the room around the plumber, and the Princess also paid decent attention to the Mayor. Mario felt lost in a sea of voices and sadness. He was going to miss Pauline.

After the speech came to a conclusion and everyone left the City Hall, Pauline approached Mario and Peach. "So... what are you guys going to do now?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"We're going back to the Mushroom Kingdom." Peach stated honestly. "We have many things to fix over there too, and as you know, it can be very hectc; especially after the one in charge is kidnapped."

"But of course." Pauline stated.

Mario looked down at the floor, and Cappy flew over beside him. "Mario," he whispered in his ear. "it's now or never." The plumber picked up his face and nodded. He was about to say something, but Peach beat him to it.

"Pauline," Peach began. "I'd like to apologize for my... callousness back in the Odyssey. We've been through so much together, and it wasn't right of me to snap at you the way that I did. Especially over a harmless joke."

"It's totally fine." Pauline stated. "I totally understand. The stress of everything that happened, almost losing Mario, it can bring a person to that. I'm sure he felt the pressure heated on, too."

"Actually..." Mario began. "I was-a more afraid of losing _you_ than-a losing my life."

Princess Peach looked down at Mario in shock. Was he talking about Pauline or her? She wasn't sure, and she began to feel afraid. Afraid of losing Mario to the Mayor.

Pauline blushed, and her eyes watered slightly. "I... well." Pauline felt her heart skip a beat.

"Mario and I are going to be leaving for Bonneton to bring Tiara and Cappy back home, and we will be returning to the Mushroom Kingdom after that. Mario has a life there, as you know." Peach stated plainly.

"If he wants, he has a life he can always return to here in New Donk City, too." Pauline said, joyfully. _I'll be waiting,_ she thought.

"You're always invited to visit the Mushroom Kingdom if you ever have time, Pauline." Peach offered. "I would be happy to have you over, if you wouldn't mind the Mushroom Tea."

"It sounds delightful." Pauline stated. "But that won't be for a long while. I have a lot of work to catch up on, and even more projects to begin and assign." She was beginning to get lost in her sea of thought, but with a quick shake of her head, she snapped out of it. "Oh, um... well, I hope the two of you return home safely."

Mario looked at Pauline, and at Peach, who was beginning to head towards the Odyssey. The sky was turning a yellow-orange hue with the setting sun, which only seemed to illuminate the Odyssey and cause a beautiful reflection off the City Hall's windows.

"Mario, we have to go!" Peach called out.

Mario turned and looked at Pauline, and stopped in his tracks. "Hold on a second, Princess!" He called out. He ran back to Pauline who was discreetly wiping tears from her eyes underneath her sunhat.

"Paulie." He called to her.

Pauline looked up from the floor at Mario. "Yes... Mario?"

"I..." He walked up closer to the Mayor. "It feels-a like it was-a just yesterday, we were at-a the beach in a thunderstorm. Do ya remember that?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, when I come-a back to visit in a few weeks, do ya wanna go-a back to that Pizza joint?" He asked.

Pauline almost fell back in surprise. "What... what do you mean?"

"I... I-a realized something... after all these years of playing-a a hero..." Mario began. "I would-a rather go back to the simpler New Donk life. I really-a would!"

"But... Princess Peach..."

"Bowser is-a dead, remember? She won't-a have to worry about him. He's off-a in space." Mario stated. "I mean, I do-a love the Princess... but... ugh, it's-a so confusing, Paulie. How did-a life get so complicated? I...I want to be here, but I also need to be in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Wasn't it always, Mario?" she mused. "Unless I'm remembering our lives differently, of course."

"No, you are-a right. That shitty two-bit apartment we-a lived in was a big-a step down." He said in a joking manner, causing Pauline to chuckle.

"Well, I've made a big step up since then, Mario." Pauline reminded him.

"I'm-a proud of you, Pauline." Mario praised her. "You were always a hard worker. It's-a paid off."

"Hey, you rubbed off on me, 'Jump Man'. Always jumping from job to job." Pauline returned. "You were a big inspiration to me, Mario. You still are."

A moment of silence broke between them, and a gentle breeze flowed past them, a reminder of what could have been and what should be.

Princess Peach waited inside the Odyssey with great patience, but Mario did not want to keep her waiting longer than he was supposed to.

He closed the distance between himself and Pauline, and sealed their conversation with a long overdue kiss. Time seemed to stand still, and all the two of them could feel was a spark within the both of them. A long, heated spark which seemed to grow with the passing few seconds, which felt like minutes. When their lips parted, both felt a power wash over them. The sunset added to the atmosphere as a couple of loving Pigeons on a lamplight gazed at the two of them.

Small sprinkles of dew from the sky illuminated in the glow of the orange sun and gently drizzled on the star-crossed lovers,

"Ciao, Pauline." Mario said lovingly, with a gentle good-bye wave.

"Ciao, Mario." Pauline reciprocated with a blown kiss and a wave.

It seemed like an eternity watching Mario walk to the Odyssey. The engine stirred and the ship began to lift. Pauline waved at the ship with a tenderness in her heart, and Cappy, Peach, Tiara, and Mario all waved back.

Eventually, the ship disappeared into the sunset, and Pauline stood stout, tears falling down her cheeks and a smile alighting her bruised face. She had gone through an ordeal, and triumphed. She was really looking forward to seeing Mario again in a few weeks. The Mayor turned her back to the dusken sky and walked back into the City Hall.

Her job was calling her, and she had a lot of mess to clean up.

Only now, she did not have to feel alone as she did it. She knew in her heart of hearts, that she and Mario could have another chance at something; a chance to make up for lost time, to clear up their issues.

She opened the curtains and window slightly to allow a gentle breeze into her office, and got out some paper work, and placed it upon her desk. She gazed out the window and, for the first time in ages, smiled.

THE END

* * *

 **Writer's Note: And that wraps up the tale! ;) I'm glad you all enjoyed and read this far. I'd like to thank you all for the awesome comments and interesting feedback. You guys are what gave me the inspiration I needed to see the story through to the very end! I apologize for the far length between updates, but life and college can be a hinderence when it comes to story-writing.**

 **Again, thank you all for reading my fic, and I'm so happy you all enjoyed it so much!**

 **Game on, my fellow gamers! ;)**

 **-Dinah (Midnight Coffee 64)**


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